2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 24 - Government - State
Public (Open) Records
Article 72 - Public Records
Part 7 - Criminal Justice Record Sealing
§ 24-72-704. Sealing of criminal conviction records information for offenses involving controlled substances for convictions entered on or after July 1, 2008, and prior to July 1, 2011

(1) Sealing of conviction records. (a) (I) Subject to the limitations described in subsection (2) of this section, a defendant may petition the district court of the district in which any conviction records pertaining to the defendant are located for the sealing of the conviction records, except basic identifying information, if:

(A) The petition is filed ten or more years after the date of the final disposition of all criminal proceedings against the defendant or the release of the defendant from supervision concerning a criminal conviction, whichever is later; and

(B) The defendant has not been charged or convicted for a criminal offense in the ten or more years since the date of the final disposition of all criminal proceedings against him or her or the date of the defendant's release from supervision, whichever is later.

(b) (I) Upon the filing of a petition, the court shall review the petition and determine whether there are grounds under this section to proceed to a hearing on the petition. If the court determines that the petition on its face is insufficient or if the court determines that, after taking judicial notice of matters outside the petition, the defendant is not entitled to relief under this section, the court shall enter an order denying the petition and mail a copy of the order to the defendant. The court's order shall specify the reasons for the denial of the petition.

(II) If the court determines that the petition is sufficient on its face and that no other grounds exist at that time for the court to deny the petition under this section, the court shall set a date for a hearing, and the defendant shall notify by certified mail the prosecuting attorney, the arresting agency, and any other person or agency identified by the defendant.

(c) After the hearing described in subparagraph (II) of paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) is conducted and if the court finds that the harm to the privacy of the defendant or the dangers of unwarranted, adverse consequences to the defendant outweigh the public interest in retaining the conviction records, the court may order the conviction records, except basic identification information, to be sealed. In making this determination, the court shall, at a minimum, consider the severity of the offense that is the basis of the conviction records sought to be sealed, the criminal history of the defendant, the number of convictions and dates of the convictions for which the defendant is seeking to have the records sealed, and the need for the government agency to retain the records. An order entered pursuant to this paragraph (c) shall be directed to each custodian who may have custody of any part of the conviction records that are the subject of the order. Whenever a court enters an order sealing conviction records pursuant to this paragraph (c), the defendant shall provide the Colorado bureau of investigation and each custodian of the conviction records with a copy of the order. The petitioner shall provide a private custodian with a copy of the order and send the private custodian an electronic notification of the order. Each private custodian that receives a copy of the order from the petitioner shall remove the records that are subject to an order from its database. The defendant shall pay to the bureau any costs related to the sealing of his or her criminal conviction records in the custody of the bureau. Thereafter, the defendant may request and the court may grant an order sealing the civil case in which the conviction records were sealed.

(2) Applicability. (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (2), the provisions of this section apply only to conviction records pertaining to judgments of conviction entered on and after July 1, 2008, and prior to July 1, 2011, for:

(I) Any petty offense in violation of a provision of article 18 of title 18, C.R.S.;

(II) Any misdemeanor in violation of a provision of article 18 of title 18, C.R.S.;

(III) Any class 5 or class 6 felony in violation of a provision of article 18 of title 18, C.R.S.; except that the provisions of this section shall not apply to conviction records pertaining to a judgment of conviction for a class 5 or class 6 felony for the sale, manufacturing, or dispensing of a controlled substance, as defined in section 18-18-102 (5), C.R.S.; attempt or conspiracy to commit the sale, manufacturing, or dispensing of a controlled substance; or possession with the intent to manufacture, dispense, or sell a controlled substance;

(IV) Any offense that would be classified as a class 5 or 6 felony in violation of a provision of article 18 of title 18, C.R.S., if the offense were to have occurred on July 1, 2008.

(b) For any judgment of conviction entered prior to July 1, 2008, for which the defendant would otherwise qualify for relief under this section, the defendant may obtain an order from the court to seal conviction records if:

(I) The prosecuting attorney does not object to the sealing; and

(II) The defendant pays to the office of the prosecuting attorney all reasonable attorney fees and costs of the prosecuting attorney relating to the petition to seal prior to the entry of an order sealing the conviction records; and

(III) The defendant pays:

(A) The filing fee required by law; and

(B) An additional filing fee of two hundred dollars to cover the actual costs related to the filing of the petition to seal records.

(c) The additional filing fees collected under sub-subparagraph (B) of subparagraph (III) of paragraph (b) of this subsection (2) must be transmitted to the state treasurer for deposit in the judicial stabilization cash fund created in section 13-32-101 (6), C.R.S.

(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to conviction records that are in the possession of a criminal justice agency when an inquiry concerning the conviction records is made by another criminal justice agency.